Various aircraft configurations are known in the prior art.
The invention more particularly concerns configurations of the flying wing or blended wing body type.
An aircraft of the flying wing type has no fuselage.
In a blended wing body aircraft there is no sharp distinction between the fuselage and the wings as in a conventional aircraft. The fuselage and the wings each contribute to the lift of the aircraft. The aircraft features a trailing edge that is continuous between the body and each of the wings.
In both cases the aircraft receives zones dedicated to the transport of passengers (pax) and/or merchandise (cargo).
The location of the doors employed in these configurations stems directly from their placement in a more conventional configuration in which the wings and the fuselage form two clearly distinct elements.
In a conventional configuration, the doors are on the fuselage of the aircraft. In a flying wing or blended wing body type aircraft the doors are therefore on the leading edge, as shown in the document U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,466.
FIG. 1 shows a blended wing body aircraft 100 as described in the above document having a series of doors 11 each of which is on the leading edge.
At this location the doors have a serious impact on the aerodynamics of the flying wing, respectively the blended wing body aircraft, however.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,466 also describes tunnel structures dedicated to the emergency evacuation of passengers.
The blended wing body aircraft 100 as shown in FIG. 1 includes four structures 12 of this type parallel to the longitudinal axis (Ox) of the aircraft 100 and each of which is at the rear of the aircraft. The structures influence the aerodynamics of the aircraft and are separated, two by two, by ailerons.
In FIG. 1, each structure 12 is connected at the level of the trailing edge of the aircraft to a slide 13 for emergency evacuation of the passengers.
At the other end of the structure 12 a door (not shown) provides access to the passenger compartment. Although away from the leading edge of the aircraft, this door affects the aerodynamics of the aircraft because it implies the presence of the structures 12.
An objective of the present invention is to propose a door configuration for access to a pressurized housing of a flying wing or blended wing body type aircraft that is particularly advantageous from the point of view of the aerodynamics of the aircraft.